The Ten Commandments of Lucy Westenra
by InsanityRunsInMyBlood
Summary: "I will." Ten drabbles featuring the Westenray ship. Loosely follows canon plot until the end, because I'm sick of sad endings. Rated M for mentions. Nothing explicit.
1. Uniqueness

_I will love you like no other_

* * *

From childhood to teenage years, to their young adult life, Lucy Westenra has been a constant presence in Mina Murray's life, and no matter what fits Mina threw, what misunderstandings that had occurred, she would always smile and say 'I love you' in her most sincere voice.

Mina had always responded guiltily, and sometimes with tears, and Lucy would take it all with a hug and a laugh, saying there was nothing to forgive.

As she matured into a fine young lady of society, Lucy was not sure when her platonic feelings pushed through the line of no return and shifted to something more, and she was frightened at first when she looked at her best friend's face and felt warmth pooling in her and her heart speed up.

Over time, she has learnt to accept it, and nurtured it carefully, kept it under wrap and hid it in the darkest recesses of her heart, only allowing herself to entertain less-than-honourable thoughts in the loneliest hours of the night, when she could see the moon hanging in the middle of the heavens.

When Jonathan Harker entered their lives and she watched Mina slowly fall in love with the handsome man, she hid her ache and threw her heartbreak out in sarcasm and impudence, belittling the man and brutally quashing the green-eyed monster before it could take a lethal bite and expose her feelings.

And when Mina turned up at her doorstep one night crying over Jonathan's harsh rejection of her dream career, she said nothing—instead pulling Mina into her arms and letting her tears soak her nightgown. That night, she did not sleep as she watched Mina toss and turn on her bed with a frown on her pretty features. It was only when she climbed in and held her and kissed her forehead gently with emotions she could never hope to convey during the daylight hours that she finally made peace with herself and her love.

Mina may have found a man to marry and the love of her life, but Lucy had been, is, and always will be the one person who treasures Mina beyond _anything_—even her own _life_. She would do everything in a blink of an eye and not utter a single word if it made Mina happy, and if _that_, she thought viciously, was not the truest form of love, then she didn't know what was.


	2. Guardian

_I will protect you_

* * *

When the enigmatic American newcomer named Alexander Grayson expressed a keen interest in Mina, Lucy could feel jealousy rising within her again, but for the sake of her friend who seemed quite taken with Grayson, she quelled those feelings and smiled emptily next to her, unease gnawing at her. She didn't want to lose another piece of Mina to yet another man, as selfish as that sounded. But there was something naturally dangerous about Grayson. The aura around the surprisingly sophisticated foreigner pricked Lucy's senses and she feared for her best friend.

So when she heard the inklings of a contract between Jonathan and Grayson, she urged the man to break all ties with the American and focus on making his life with Mina, as painful as it was to give him that sort of advice. He had laughed at her and told her to go back to planning parties or 'whatever it is you ignorant society ladies do in your free time'.

She had returned home nursing bruised knuckles, but with a vicious grin on her lips as she thought back to Jonathan's face when she punched him right in the jaw. That'll teach him to call her ignorant and insinuate that she's less intelligent than him.

She alone could plot his entire downfall with just her influence.

Before she could give any more thought into that particularly amusing idea, Mina had burst into the entrance hall crying, and with resignation and anger, Lucy knew the brunette had found out about Jonathan's new contract.

_How, how could you bear to hurt a woman as perfect as she, Jonathan Harker?_ Lucy wondered absently when she gathered Mina into her arms just like the other nights she needed comfort. A devious thought flitted into her mind, but she quickly pushed it away. Absinthe would not do for someone like Mina, much less Mina in her current condition.

"Oh, Lucy, darling, I'm so sorry I keep on coming here to you. I know it's not fair—" Lucy was half tempted to agree with the blubbering Mina, but of course she did not. "—but you're the first person I think of to come to in situations like these." She wiped her eyes and gave a tremulous smile to the blonde.

"I'm flattered, dearest," Lucy responds honestly, a small, exasperated smile tugging at her lips at how uncertain Mina seemed even after all these ears. "This shoulder, that shoulder," she said playfully, "both yours to cry on." She promised. Mina gave a watery laugh and sniffled.

"Thank you, love." Mina said, and a sharp pang of pain lanced through Lucy. Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second, and turned sad at Mina's next words. "Sometimes I wish I could marry you."

"Wouldn't that be grand." She murmured. "Then I can properly protect you like a good gentleman." She joked, and Mina laughed, all traces of tears gone from her voice.

"Indeed, and I shall be Wilhelmina Westenra. Suits me, doesn't it?" She giggled.

Lucy's heart warmed, and broke a bit more.


	3. Perpetuity

_I will always be here for you._

* * *

"Oh, Lucy, we're engaged!"

"_I_ was the one to propose."

"Would you please plan our engagement party? You are the _best_ person for that, and I trust you above all others."

Thus Lucy found herself busy getting everything ready for something she could not even bear to think about.

After all, how could she say no to her darling Mina?

Mina walked up beside her, putting a hand on her arm. Lucy started, not having heard over her thoughts.

"How is it going?" Mina asked, a smudge of something on her cheek. Lucy automatically went to wipe it away with her thumb, not even bothering with a handkerchief, not allowing her finger to linger on the soft skin.

"Did you, by any chance, forget to avoid touching your face in the laboratory?" She asked, chuckling. Mina smiled and blushed at the astute observation.

"I _may_ have scratched it a _bit_. Only because nobody else was there to do it." Mina pouted.

"I didn't know the lady needed someone to scratch her royal cheeks." Lucy replied smartly, the insinuation well hidden yet obvious.

"Lucy!" Mina said, scandalised, and laughed loudly. "Oh you always know how to cheer me up. I needed that after all of my dealings with the stupid pigs of boys in my class."

"You love them, Mina, don't lie." Lucy responded airily.

"I love you more." Mina said, kissing Lucy's cheek. "Thank you for doing this, Lucy. I really appreciate it." She said, gesturing at the different fabrics in front of Lucy.

"It's my job as your best friend." Lucy said, not without some difficulty. It was times like these when Mina's face was flushed and her entire visage was lit with a beaming smile, and her eyes more blue than grey in the rays of sunlight filtering through the window, that Lucy found herself crumbling and unable to fight off her desire.

"Nonsense. You're more to me than a best friend. No matter who I marry and what I do, I'll always be here for you." Mina promised, and Lucy was again reminded of their deep friendship…which was all it ever will be. She knew she should be content to keep such a title, and to be honest she was honoured that Mina holds her in such a position, but it was human nature to want what one cannot have, and she was not above such things.

"As will I," she said quietly, taking Mina's hand and ignoring how it made her feel like she was flying. She gave it a quick squeeze, bathing in Mina's gentle smile reserved just for her. "As will I."


	4. Silence

_I will be your peace._

* * *

It was the night before the engagement party, and Mina had decided to sleep over at Lucy's.

Sleep was a concept lost on the nervous girl, though, no matter how many times Lucy told Mina to _come to bed_ already.

She had been sitting there for what felt like half the night, back propped on her fluffy pillows comfortably.

"What if he doesn't show up?" Mina paced barefoot, agitation written over her features.

"What if he decides he doesn't love me anymore? Oh, _Lucy_," Mina said wretchedly and rushed over to the window.

Lucy, at this point, could only watch with amused detachment.

"What if _I_ suddenly find out I don't love him tomorrow?" Mina wailed, and Lucy repressed a sigh when she threw herself onto the bed, jostling her from within her blankets.

She helped Mina up and offered her a glass of water that stood untouched on the nightstand. Mina gulped it down gratefully, for her throat was parched after all that worrying.

"Mina, darling." The two words spoken with such reproach made Mina close her mouth and stop her action of standing up.

"What will I do?" Mina fretted, hands fluttering and grasping at the covers. Lucy stopped her firmly, taking her hands in her own and locking away her own troubles. Tonight, Mina was her priority.

"Sometimes, doing nothing is the best." She said with a flash of wisdom and clarity that left Mina wordless. "You need to sleep. Can't have you looking haggard tomorrow, you understand?"

Her friend nodded silently and allowed Lucy to tuck her in. The blonde made sure Mina was comfortable and then lay down next to her, taking Mina's hand in her own and stroking the back of it with her thumb in a repetitive gesture of comfort. The only sound they could hear were themselves taking in calm, slow breaths, and Mina turned to face Lucy, looking up at her with drowsy, colourless eyes in the dim candlelight.

"Thank you," she mouthed silently, and Lucy leaned forward to give her a kiss on the forehead, smoothing her hair with her free hand. She took Mina's hand up and kissed her knuckles softly just as the brunette's eyes fluttered shut.

In the silence, her pain crashed back into her like a tidal wave, and Lucy shut her eyes, refusing to cry.

"I love you," she whispered back, but Mina was already lost to her, and with a sinking feeling, she allowed one tear to escape before she too, lost consciousness.


	5. Betrayal

_I will be your most faithful._

* * *

Many things have happened since the engagement.

She had made many mistakes since then.

The biggest one, and the only one she cannot bring herself to regret no matter what she told herself, was finally revealing how she felt to Mina.

Never in a million years would she ever have imagined Mina would have responded the way she did, and each time she cast her mind back to the fateful day, agony unlike anything she's ever experienced before rent her soul and crushed the already shattered pieces of her heart—ground it to dust.

She was hollow.

Lady Jayne had been something to fill up the void, the former shell of her vivacious self.

_So every time that we danced and dressed—_

Her hands curled into fists.

_—and cried and slept together…Is that why you undermine Jonathan?_

She still stands by her words that he is an absolute twit and does not appreciate Mina the way she should be appreciated. Nothing can change how she feels. It's just _that_ much more painful now.

_Not to protect me, but for your own gain?_

How could she say that?

_Has our whole friendship been a pretence?_

That friendship had defined most of Lucy since as long as she could remember. If it were a pretence, then she might as well not exist. She _has_ no purpose without Mina.

Doing something seemed better than doing nothing after all.

Mina was right, and she was wrong.

Wasn't she always?

Lucy smiled perfunctorily at Jonathan when he walked in.

She speaks cleverly, manipulates the man, and yet thinks of nothing at all, numbness penetrating to her core.

It ended with a kiss that left her bitterer than before.

So when he comes in that evening pushing her against the wall with a fierce and bruising kiss, she lets him.

Writhing on the bed, she pretends his large, rough hands are small and soft, and sees not the ceiling, but her most sensual fantasies.

Feeling something was better than not feeling at all.


	6. Verity

_I will be your honesty._

* * *

These days, there's something there in her, as opposed to the absolute vacancy before.

Perhaps it's the guilt.

She tears apart her mother's garden, choosing to ignore the consequences of ravaging such a beautiful sight and all that hard work, and gathers a bouquet of flowers she thinks Mina would love.

She doesn't know what to think anymore, and certainly not what Mina loves. Not after that day. She had thoughts Mina loved her more than to let her confession get in between them, but it seemed she was wrong—yet again.

Her heels clicked on the hospital's floor. Why does she keep on doing this? She should just give up entirely, because that was what Mina had done to her.

No, she needs to tell Mina about Jonathan, if not for her own gains, for Mina's good. She owes her that much after completely destroying their friendship.

She poked her head into the room Mina is supposed to be in, and closes the door. When Mina saw her, she shifted infinitesmally, and her name falls from her lips.

"Lucy." Spoken so softly set her heart thudding, and it was almost painful, this onslaught of emotions after monotonous, meaningless beating for so long. She smiled and failed, the corners of her lips falling down when she saw the bandage on Mina's forehead. Rage flared inside and she hurried over.

"My god," she said shakily, "What have they done to you?" She sits anxiously and feels useless.

"Lucy," Mina said in a pained voice.

"Yes?" She asked, concern welling up within. It was too much—too much—

"You're sitting on my hand."

Her heart gives a strangled little thump, and she apologises.

They laugh.

For a second she has a flashback to when things were happier, and there was no tension between them.

She knows the small talk cannot last for any longer, and she _apologises_, says she's sorry, and holds a hand to her mouth because she's panicking, she can't do this, and _oh_ how she regrets—

"Get out. Get out GET OUT!" Mina screams at her when she tries to touch her again, and Lucy chokes back a sob before nearly running out, still clutching the bouquet she picked lovingly and pretending not to hear Mina's laboured breaths full of disbelief and despair.

Grayson visits her that night, sinking his fangs into her neck (he's a vampire he's a vampire he's a _vampire_) and forces her to drink from his wrist, leaving her in the bathtub, eyes wide and covered with blood.

_And the truth shall set you free_.

And indeed, she was waiting for death.


	7. Devotion

_I will wait for __you._

* * *

Hiding in the shadows was not something Lucy was accustomed to. Yet if she were to live, in a manner of speaking, as the self-proclaimed protector of Mina aside from Gray-no, _Dracula_, she would have to be careful to protect _herself_ first.

She was not the same.

To be fair, could anyone be the same after all of that?

Add killing her own mother to the list, too, and Lucy is surprised she's not completely broken.

She's completely alone, now.

Endless days and nights of research has led her to find out more of the Dracula legends, and scouring through the remains of destroyed compounds and buildings shaped her understanding and shifted her entire view of what had been happening in London ever since Dracula arrived.

She was impressed at the amount of subterfuge he demonstrated, to orchestrate all of this to take revenge for Ilona, and then ultimately gaining Mina's trust and love through manipulating everyone else around him, ridding himself of them, and also severing Mina's ties with them.

What had he said back then? That he was going to turn her into a monster since she was behaving like one?

She shook her head. His love for Ilona has blinded him and turned him into something he should not be, even as a vampire. She was determined not to follow his path, for love is pure and should not corrupt. She has seen how foolish she was back then, and when she found out Jayne was dead, she had laughed remorselessly.

She had truly been behaving like a monster, but _he_ was the true monster here, and she hopes one day Mina will see that. His whole connection with Van Helsing, the Order of the Dragon, Harker, and of course Jayne Wetherby has led to the events unfolding as they had.

How did he return to life in the first place?

She shook her head, dismissing the thought. What was done was done. She needed to find a way to repent.

Mina Murray _isn't_ Ilona, reincarnation be damned. Nothing gives him the right to just swoop in and isolate her for his own gain and throw away the people who love her like yesterday's trash.

Did Mina even know he was a vampire?

Did Mina know she was dead?

Did Mina _care_?

She perched on the rooftop under the pouring clouds, reluctant tears mingling with the rainwater.

Her love be damned, she wanted the friendship back, and she would wait.

After all, she had all eternity.


	8. Warrior

_I will fight for you_.

* * *

She should have known Dracula would be continuing all the trouble he brought to London.

Watching Dracula fight both Van Helsing and Harker while avoiding decapitation and getting skewered by iron was amusing, but Mina's screams of fear were less than amusing, being held by Van Helsing's underlings at knifepoint.

"_ALEXANDER!_" Judging by Mina's cry, she didn't know the man's true identity. Slightly surprised, she moved in and intercepted Jonathan's iron blade which was aiming straight at Dracula's back with a sword of her own.

He stumbled, surprised, and Lucy grinned.

"Y-you!" He gasped, getting into a defensive position. "What are you doing here?"

Lucy didn't give him an answer. She simply knocked him out with a swift move and spun around to face her sire and the university professor.

"Fancy seeing you here, _Grayson_." She said, and Dracula hissed menacingly at the sight of her. She decided not to reveal his true identity. He needed to do that himself

"How did you block my telepathic connection?" He said in a pitch only she could hear, and the moment of distraction was all Van Helsing needed to uncork a vial of Holy Water and toss the contents towards them.

Lucy eyed the surprised Dracula and terrified Mina.

It was a split-second decision that didn't even require effort.

"Save her!" She snarled, plunging straight through the curtain of water with her mouth shut firmly. Her eyes bled red and she felt her fangs protract and she bit the urge to _scream because it hurt and it burned and it burned it consumed it—_

"Why save him?" Van Helsing choked.

"She loves him, and her happiness is everything to me." She responded with clarity, and saw fear in his eyes, for nothing is more dangerous than unconditional love.

_SNAP_.

She brought Van Helsing's body up and sunk her fangs into his neck, drinking deeply, feeling his pulse stutter and die. As soon as she had her fill, she tossed him aside, wiping the blood from her lips with a grimace, feeling the healing process speed up with the recent consumption. She returned herself to her normal state, but could not do anything to help her bloodstained and torn clothes.

Looking backwards, she could see all the men either dead or unconscious on the ground, and Mina in hysterics in Dracula's arms.

"You didn't tell her _anything_ did you, you monster?" She asked despite the pain. Mina whimpered as she took in Lucy's appearance.

"You are as much a monster as I am." Dracula spat, rage in his tone. Lucy shook her head, advancing. He knelt rigidly, still holding Mina's pale form to him. She knelt beside him, her unbloodied hand cupping Mina's cheek. The action triggered memories, and the brunette calmed, feeling the familiar sense of security that came with the action.

"Lucy," she breathed, and Lucy closed her eyes briefly, revelling in hearing Mina speak her name again.

"I am so sorry, Mina," she said softly, ignoring Dracula's fuming presence next to her. She knew he could do nothing against her when Mina was in his arms and speaking to her.

"Leave." Mina croaked, and it was reminiscent of the time she visited her in the hospital.

Lucy's dead heart clenched. She stood, pursing her lips.

"I just want our friendship back, and I'll do anything to make it up to you." She said.

"She said, _leave_." Dracula growled.

"Both of you!" Mina said sharply, shifting in his arms. He looked at her, aghast, and Lucy repressed a bitter laugh. Let him experience her pain. They both deserved it for hurting such a pure soul like Mina and leaving stains behind.

She opened her mouth to leave her last words.

"I still love you."


	9. Forgiveness

_I will forgive you._

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am, but where might I find Lucy Westenra?" She heard one night, and froze in the alley she was walking in. She inched towards the noise and peeked around the corner.

"Oh, you poor darling." The plump woman said with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Both Minerva and Lucy Westenra are dead."

Lucy's breath hitched—an forgotten human habit, when she heard Mina cry out in shock.

Sweet thing was so wrapped up in Dracula's intoxicating love that she forgot about her other associates.

"N-no, that's can't be! I-I saw Lucy just a few weeks ago, she, she was…alive!" Mina stammered, and the old woman shook her head sadly.

"I'm terribly sorry to have told you like this, Miss Murray. I thought you would have known." She said.

"Oh no, it's…it's fine." Mina said absently, holding a hand to her heart. "I—if you'll excuse me." Her voice broke, and she ran straight into the alley opposite of Lucy's, sliding down and crying to herself.

Lucy peeked around the street again, and as the woman rounded another corner, the cobblestone road was silent, and so was the night.

"Mina." She said quietly, stepping out into the street. Mina looked up with a wild expression.

"Lucy!" She said in a barely audible tone, her voice quaking. "Are you a wraith, coming back to haunt me?" She asked, afraid.

Lucy laughed. Fear was easy to handle. Hate was not.

And so she sliced her wrist with her nails, putting a finger to her lips when Mina opened her mouth to cry out, and as they both watched it heal without scarring in the span of a few seconds, Mina slumped back against the wall.

"So what Van Helsing accused was true, then." She said exhaustedly. "Vampires exist, and you _are_ one."

Lucy sat with her and took her hands into her own, her bright green eyes pleading with Mina to let her explain.

They sat there through the darkest hours of the night, when Mina huddled into a recently-fed Lucy for warmth, and through dawn, when the kindlings of a passionate friendship was reignited, and sunrise, when Lucy asked for forgiveness, and Mina laughed.

"I was such a fool, Lucy, for throwing you away like that." She said softly, cupping Lucy's face. The blonde gave a timorous smile, and Mina touched foreheads with her. "I think the real question here is…will _you_ forgive _me_?"

Lucy smiled and gave the answer she had always given.

"There's nothing to forgive."


	10. Purpose

_I will live for you._

* * *

Lucy paced nervously in the courtyard, waiting for Mina to return. This could either go wonderfully or disastrously, and she desperately hoped for the former.

She would tear him apart if he did anything to Mina, strength and power be damned.

Her love for _Mina Murray_ would be stronger than his love for _Ilona_.

Because she's Mina, not Ilona. She's different.

But by the happy and relieved expression on Mina's face she could tell it had indeed gone smoothly.

"What did you tell him?" She asked.

"That if he loved me at all, he would let me go." Mina said, hugging Lucy

Just then, the sun rose over the courtyard and sent splashes of vivid colour over everything.

Both women felt each other tense beneath their arms, and when Lucy's brilliant blonde hair was lit golden and her green eyes shone a thousand different colours in the sunbeams, they hugged each other tighter, both nearly crying from relief.

"It worked, Lucy, it worked!" Mina exclaimed into Lucy's shoulder.

The formula for the cure had been salvaged by Mina, who knew where Van Helsing kept copied documents of all his work, and through careful moderation and testing, she had developed a permanent way for vampires to stay in the sunlight.

It was quite ingenious, and also quite simple at the same time. Like the immune system in humans, the serum would be transported by blood. Instead of by the body's natural blood, it would be by the victim's blood circulating through the vampire's body. Mina had deduced that for the healing effects to take place so quickly after blood is ingested, the liquid must travel through their bodies very rapidly to reach to every part of it. Since they did not have a functioning heartbeat, this would prove to be the substitute. Lucy had taken the serum once, immediately after she fed, and the duration of it had lasted her until she hunted her next victim.

Of course, the only drawback was that if the vampire does not consume a meal, the serum would not be renewed through the system, but Lucy should not have that problem—Mina wouldn't let her, and she made sure Lucy always had backup serum on her.

"It's been so long." Lucy whispered, splaying her fingers in the light as they drew back. Mina caught her hand and grasped it tightly, looking into her eyes.

"I have forgotten how beautiful you looked in the sunlight." She said softly. Lucy smiled prettily, eyes crinkling. Mina brushed a curl away from Lucy's face and swallowed. "Was I truly so blind back then?" She murmured to herself, and Lucy's eyes widened as she leaned forward.

"Your love is all I need in this world, Lucy. When I thought you had died, I couldn't live with myself knowing the last thing I told you was to leave." She admitted, casting her eyes downwards.

"Oh, Mina, dearest," Lucy started, but Mina shook her head.

"I want you to know that I _love you_, Lucy." Mina closed the distance again so that their lips were mere inches apart. Blue met green, and the whole world melted around them. It was only Lucy and Mina, like it had always been.

Mina tilted her head, her lips parting, and Lucy closed the space entirely, moulding her lips to Mina's softly, lovingly.

It was as simple as that, and when they broke apart, they went back in almost immediately, moving in synchronisation.

The second time Mina resurfaced for lack of air, and Lucy chuckled in a low tone that made Mina even dizzier.

"I love to live, and I live to love, Mina." She said huskily.

Lucy kissed her again, lips lingering. She had found her purpose, and she was never letting go.

"I live to love _you_."


End file.
